The UK doom scene continues to pump out solid releases and the latest from Alunah is no different. Strange Machine (Heavy Psych Sounds) kicks right off with the album track and does not let up on the psychedelic rock/doom metal mixture. A lot of fans of the scene tend to just say things like “Oh it’s just more Sabbath worship”, but rest assure, these Birmingham natives are not here to hit copy and paste.

‘Over The Hills’ has one of my favorite riffs on the album starting off the song and only gets better in the chorus. The guitar and vocal hooks are easily the catchiest on all of Strange Machine. Another track that really stood out for me is ‘The Earth Spins’ is certainly one of the “doomier” tracks than the more psych-rock ones on the rest of the album. To no surprise, this song has a killer chorus too that is sure to get that slow head nod going. Then, ‘Silver’ cuts right in kicking the tempo back up with tons of palm muting in the verse. Have I mentioned this album is chock-full of catchy choruses? Well, Alunah made sure to have yet another one in this track as well!

Even with this being their sixth studio release, Alunah was a band that I was not aware of and am fortunate I now have knowledge of their existence! Is this a band that is influenced by legendary bands in the genre? Yes, of course. But as stated before, this is not worship at all, rather it is an evolution of a well-known and respected sound. For that reason, if Strange Machine happens to be someone’s first time listening to Alunah, it may behoove new listeners to dig back into previous releases.

Buy the album here: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/alunah-strange-machine

6 / 10

TIM LEDIN